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The American Airborne concept first suggested in World War I, became a need heading into World War II. The war started years before direct American involvement. The Airborne concept had to quickly yield results to support the allied cause, which at the time of its creation, was losing in both the Pacific and European theaters.
While there were no Airborne units in the American military, the airborne concept was nothing new to the Army. In 1918, it was Brigadier General William P. “Billy” Mitchell of the Army Air Corps, General John J. Pershing’s air service advisor in WWI, who first suggested the United States Army should utilize airborne troops.[1] Although “Black Jack” Pershing approved the idea, the concept never became reality due to the war ending of the war.
It would take another twenty-one years for the American Army to realize the paratroopers would be an important asset for future military operations. In 1939, when General George C. Marshall became the Army’s Chief of Staff, he made the recommendation to Major General George A. Lynch, Chief of the Infantry at the time, to “make a study for the purpose of determining the desirability of organizing, training and conducting tests of a small detachment of air infantry with a view to determine whether or not our Army should contain a unit or units of this nature.”[2]
Marshall recognized the potential and importance of possessing an Airborne asset. Even though some argued the Airborne concept was not a necessity for the Americans in WWII, General Marshall gave his approval on 25 July 1940. He authorized the War Department to immediately establish a Parachute Test Platoon to experiment with the development of airborne troops.[3]
Lieutenant General (Retired) Edward M. Flanagan defends the creation of the Airborne by pointing out in his book, Corregidor: The Rock Force Assault, the paratroopers served as a strategic asset with the ability to occupy the enemy commander’s mind for three reasons. First, while the enemy knows the airborne units exist, he does not know where they will strike.
Next, once they jump, the enemy must commit forces to engage the paratroopers, typically dropped over enemy vulnerabilities, such as their rear or flanks. Finally, the enemy never knows when the airborne attack might occur, leaving him in a constant state of high alert.[4]
Flanagan also highlighted that even when the drops were not a complete success and the paratroopers end up scattered, the enemy remained confused due to not knowing the size of the force, nor did he know where to concentrate his own force.
Because of how their drops disperse over a large area, paratroopers had the ability to deceive the enemy into thinking that their numbers were greater than what they actually were.[5] Flanagan cited Sicily as an example of the Airborne accomplishing this feat.
In Normandy, while the Airborne may not have succeeded in all of its D-Day objectives, it left the Germans in a constant state of confusion. The Airborne successfully defended the flanks and perimeter of the Normandy beachheads by freezing the German forces in place. The enemy’s confusion over an airborne drop easily became part of the element of surprise.
In the days following June 6th, 1944, the German Seventh Army chief of staff reported that “the ‘new weapon,’ the airborne troops, behind the coastal fortifications on the one hand, and their massive attack on our own counterattacking troops, on the other hand, have contributed significantly to the initial success of the enemy.”[6] From their appearance in the theater of war to the drops to the aftermath of the assault, paratroopers left their enemy in a disoriented and bewildered state. But before the Airborne would prove themselves on the battlefields of Europe, they had to start at the beginning, from scratch.
In late July 1940, the 48 original paratroopers, 2 officers, and 46 enlisted men began testing for the development of equipment, training, and techniques that would later be used in units dropped into harm’s way. Many of the developments created by this small group are still used to this day. This innovative group of young men performed testing that would claim two lives from their ranks. The platoon took courageous risks required to develop airborne capabilities for the entire American Army.
Among those in the Army, there were not many who knew much about parachutes or paratroopers at the start of WWII. However, at the start of the war, the Germans utilized their fallshirmjager, or paratroopers, in a few operations, stirring some interest in a few officers of the United States Army.
One was Lieutenant William T. Ryder, a 1936 graduate of West Point, who expressed interest in airborne operations long before the Army approved the formation of the Parachute Test Platoon. He studied Soviet and German tactics and training conducted in the late 1930s.
Prior to Ryder’s knowledge of the development of an airborne unit in the U.S. Army, Ryder submitted a number of papers to the Infantry Board covering the use of airborne units in combat.[7]
Ironically, when Lieutenant Ryder showed up with fifteen other officers who volunteered for the opportunity to lead the test platoon for a written exam, he was relieved to find the majority of the test covered articles he personally submitted to the Infantry Board in the past. In forty-five minutes, Ryder completed the two-hour examination and was quickly selected to command the test platoon.[8]
Five of the best Army Air Corps’ parachutists and riggers, led by Warrant Officer Harry “Tug” Wilson, conducted the training for the Parachute Test Platoon. [10] In the first two weeks, their training consisted of tough physical training combined with classes on the basics of the history of the parachute and its theories. Actual jumps were not performed because the platoon did not even have enough parachutes to conduct airborne training.[11] This was truly an outfit that evolved and developed its tactics with each jump.
By the third week, Major William H. Lee, the officer in charge of overseeing the development of the airborne units, sent the platoon to Hightstown, New Jersey. Major Lee discovered that due to the New York City World’s Fair in 1939, there were two 150-foot parachute jump towers his platoon could utilize for training. Later, 250-foot towers were built at Fort Benning to facilitate other paratroopers’ training. The platoon trained in New Jersey for ten days before returning to Georgia to finish their final two weeks of training.[12]
The platoon made great strides, and after its time in New Jersey, the men were in outstanding physical condition and could all pack their own chutes. On the last day of week seven, Lieutenant Ryder announced the completion of the ground phase of their training and the unit would make five jumps the following week.
After his announcement, “Tug” Wilson explained there would be a demonstration where a dummy would be dropped out of an airplane and parachute to the ground.[13] To the horror of every man at the demonstration, the dummy, nicknamed “Oscar,” was “pushed from the aircraft door, and plummeted to its destruction a mere 50 yards distance from the spectating volunteers.”[14] Fortunately for the men, it was only a test dummy.
Lieutenant Ryder, the leader of the platoon, was the first one out of the lead airplane for the inaugural jump, earning him the title of the “First American Paratrooper.”[15] Three more jumps followed the initial test, each one prompted rules and changes to be made to their equipment and techniques. One of these rules included the requirement that every jumper look off into the horizon when standing in the door, rather than looking down. This prevented the soldier from freezing in the doorway, keeping him from slowing down the entire stick’s progress during exit.[16]
The fifth jump the platoon conducted was to be a mass jump for a group of individuals requesting a demonstration of the accomplished work. The audience consisted of General Lynch, Major Lee, General Marshall, and, unannounced, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. The performance of the jump greatly impressed those in attendance.
The audience witnessed the Parachute Test Platoon conduct the army’s “first airborne tactical operation with well-drilled precision.”[17] As a result of the platoon’s successes, the U.S. Army formed the first parachute battalion. By order of the War Department, on October 1st, 1940, the 501stParachute Infantry Battalion officially activated at Fort Benning.[18]
It took guts to volunteer to be a member of an Airborne unit, not just in combat, but in training as well. The Parachute Test Platoon represented some of the finest America had to offer. They were courageous individuals willing to pay the ultimate price for a military experiment that, at the time, did not even involve combat. They volunteered to help create an asset the Army deemed necessary to fight and win our nation’s wars.
Two short years later, rapidly promoted Major General William C. Lee, dubbed the “Father of American Airborne,” described these pioneers as “the fountainhead of the mighty airborne forces that wrote such glorious pages in the history of World War II.”[19] The Parachute Test Platoon paved the way for many others. Like those original, brave forty-eight, they volunteered to assume additional risk by joining the Airborne Paratroopers and jump out of an airplane, in training and eventually combat.
_____
[1] Edward M.Flanagan, AIRBORNE: A Combat History of American Airborne Forces, Presidio Press, 2002), 5.
[2] Ibid., 7.
[3] Bennett M. Guthrie, Three Winds of Death, (Stillwater: New Forums Press, 2000), 3.
[4] Edward M.Flanagan, Corregidor: The Rock Force Assault, (Novato, Presidio Press, 1997), 101.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Flanagan, AIRBORNE, 201.
[7] Flanagan, AIRBORNE, 10.
[8] Gerard M. Devlin, PARATROOPER!: The Saga Of U.S. Army And Marine Parachute And Glider Combat Troops During World War II, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1979), 51.
[9] US Airborne[database online], (accessed 12 April 2005); available from
http://homeusers.brutele.be/sgteagle/welcometothealliedairborneheadquarters_usairborne.htm.
[10] Devlin, 53.
[11] John C. Andrews, Airborne Album: Volume One: Parachute Test Platoon To Normandy, (Williamstown: Phillips Publications, 1982), 4.
[12] Flanagan, 12.
[13] Devlin, 60.
[14] Andrews, 4.
[15] Andrews, 5.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Flanagan, AIRBORNE, 12.
[18] Ibid., 13.
[19] James M. Gavin, Airborne Warfare, (Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1947), viii.
___________________
This first appeared in The Havok Journal on June 2, 2019.
Mike Kelvington grew up in Akron, Ohio. He is an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army with experience in special operations, counterterrorism, and counterinsurgency operations over twelve deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, including with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He’s been awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained in combat. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Downing Scholar, and holds master’s degrees from both Princeton and Liberty Universities. The views expressed on this website are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army or DoD.
It was my 3rd mission that I bagged my first bad guy.
Right out of the bird, I knew we were running up to the top of a hill and just above the target building. To be blatantly honest, all I paid attention to at that point was how far we were walking and if there was a terrain feature or not we had to cross, meaning a big ass mountain or anything that would make walking harder.
Back then I didn’t know anything or so it seems now that I have survived it all. All I knew that night is that I had to stay with my Team Leader, hell to be honest with you, that night I didn’t even have a radio. I remember putting the mortar rounds on my back and immediately feeling the shoulder straps sliding off the normal position. I remember also trying to figure out between two different bags which one was more comfortable and usable on the objective. Well, the only difference was which one would start hurting in 15 secs, while the new one would hurt in 10. In almost every aspect of being a Ranger, you’re going to feel pain for a very, very long time. That pain burns at the very beginning, but when you start to feel it, you just have to mentally control it. It’s like when you pull off your socks and your feet are rubbed raw enough to pull off the skin in your arches. We don’t stop when that happens. When you start walking out to the final manifest call for the mission, you can feel the scabs separating and it feels like walking on glass, but eventually they all bust up and you don’t feel it and eventually you’ll learn how to block it out.
The night I first got blooded, it was one of those run off the bird and get to where you’re supposed to be. You cannot mess it up cuz’ we have to roll. Once the assault team reaches the door they are going and you better have security set in for them or it’s on you. At this point, I’m still just trying to keep up and am getting further behind, I start thinking, “do NOT get separated from my TL.” Remember, he’s got the radio?
Then BAM I noticed everyone stopped.
My guys had their lasers trained on a guy not 10’ in front of them. Mexican standoff style. Like true Rangers, our boys shot first, but their weapons jammed. This guy was loaded with an AK and some grenades on him. He is exactly what you imagine a terrorist to look like that you see in the media, right down to the pineapple grenades on his Rhodesian vest and a white turban. I was still admittedly hesitant, but after they let loose on those two rounds and he still was running, I hammered that guy. This wasn’t anything like in the movies.
From that night on, I was never scared of the enemy.
Just turned on.
Using all my mental prowess to contribute to the group and belong among them.
Things I learned that night were that it’s your judgment call when to pull that trigger and you’ll know when it’s right, usually. It just happens in a flash and before you know it you’re taking a knee reloading a mag and releasing your bolt catch. Also, shit can go to hell real quick because of the terrain there. Rocks will all be the same color so imagery can be really tricky with shadows. You might not realize you’re in a boulder field on the side of a mountain or a cliff instead of a hillside.
Honestly, that night I didn’t even think about having shot a man (if you can call him that) until I almost was asleep. I was and am happy to be a Ranger. I belonged there, ridding evil of the Earth. I had a group of guys willing to fight and die with me. I had never and probably will never feel such a good feeling as when you all make it back, head to chow, and start bullshitting.
Freedom isn’t free. Rangers Lead The Way!
To read Webb’s story on extreme hardship and successful transition. Click here. This first appeared in The Havok Journal on November 20, 2016.
By the time America entered World War I in April 1917, the British Imperial and French armies had been all but bled dry, having lost 2 million killed in action and over 6 million wounded. While Germany and its allies had also suffered horrendous casualties, they knew the American army was pitifully small, ill-equipped, inexperienced and an ocean away from intervention.
They were right. The process of conscripting and outfitting 2.8 million men and transporting them to France meant there was virtually no American presence on the battlefield until the spring of 1918, and even then, the Yanks initially deployed in relatively small numbers. In the meantime, Germany’s fortunes had changed dramatically. The Russian armistice on the Eastern Front freed up 50 divisions of battle-hardened troops to be thrown against the shaky and shell-shocked trenchlines of France.
The Kaiser’s staff reckoned that a breakthrough of the exhausted French and British lines and a few swift, decisive defeats inflicted on the Americans before the bulk of the expeditionary forces arrived could effectively neutralize them—and win the war. Almost lost to history is consideration of how close that effort came to success.
A massive German offensive destroyed the British 5th Army, swept the French forces aside and pushed to less than 40 miles from Paris. The capitol itself was battered with 183 shells fired by monstrous Krupp railway guns. Kaiser Wilhelm II was so pleased that he declared a national holiday. That celebration proved to be premature.
Four Australian divisions rushed into the breach and stalled the offensive, just as the overextended German supply lines were failing. The Germans reeled away from the surprisingly aggressive Aussies and drove into what they saw as easier avenues around Chateau Thierry and Belleau Wood. They had more surprises in store: the Americans they had dismissed as “amateurs, who will not fight.”
As the first units of Yanks arrived, retreating French troops urged them to fall back before the Boche onslaught. The Marine Brigade was ordered to “hold where they stand.” Lacking shovels, they dug shallow fighting positions with their bayonets at the edge of broad wheat fields. When the Germans advanced en masse, they were rudely introduced to the Springfield ’03 and American marksmanship.
“Lafayette, we are here!”
This drove the Germans back into the Belleau Wood, but left them with excellent defensive positions, a prime marshaling area for hordes of reinforcements and an ideal launching point to continue their offensive.
Interlocking fields of machine gun and artillery fire were established, and the Germans were masters of that art. But the woods had to be taken—and those deadly wheat fields crossed.
Again, the Yanks were repeatedly urged to retreat, fall back and dig in. Marine Captain Lloyd Williams’ famed reply, “Retreat? Hell, we just got here!” made its way through the ranks, putting steel in the Yanks’ spines.
The assault on Belleau Wood is the stuff of legends, but true ones; not myths. Casualties were the worst in the Corps’ history, but the Yanks could not be stopped.
It was there, under murderous fire, that Marine First Sergeant Dan Daly leaped up with pistol in hand and yelled to his men, “Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever?”—then led them through the carnage of the wheat fields and into the woods.
He was nominated for a Medal of Honor, but Congress denied it because he already had two, for extraordinary heroism during the Boxer Rebellion in China, and in Nicaragua in 1915. It was there, for their sheer ferocity in hand-to-hand combat, that the Germans gave the Marines their “Devil Dogs” nickname, fleeing survivors describing them as teufel hunden—“hounds from hell.”
When the great German offensive was over, they had lost 270,000 men, all the gains they had made and the ability to press another assault for the rest of the war. Americans began flowing into Europe at the rate of 10,000 men per day. Germany’s fate was sealed.
Had Paris been taken; had the French ports fallen; had the Americans failed, as so many expected them to do, then … what?
Joseph Jacob Foss (April 17, 1915 – January 1, 2003) was a United States Marine Corps major and a leading Marine fighter ace in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his role in air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign. In postwar years, he was an Air National Guard brigadier general, served as the 20th Governor of South Dakota (1955–1959), president of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and the first commissioner of the American Football League. He also was a television broadcaster.
Early years
Foss was born in an unelectrified farmhouse near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the oldest son of Mary Esther (née Lacey) and Frank Ole Foss. He was of Norwegian and Scottish descent.[2] At age 12, he visited an airfield in Renner to see Charles Lindbergh on tour with his aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis. Four years later, he and his father paid $1.50 apiece to take their first aircraft ride in a Ford Trimotor at Black Hills Airport with a famed South Dakota aviator, Clyde Ice.[3]
In March 1933, while coming back from the fields during a storm, his father was killed when he drove over a downed electrical cable and was electrocuted as he stepped out of his automobile.[4] Young Foss, not yet 18 years old, pitched in with his mother and brother Cliff to continue running the family farm.[5] Farming was made difficult by dust storms, which over the next two years took its toll on crops and livestock.[citation needed]
After watching a Marine Corps aerial team, led by Capt. Clayton Jerome, perform aerobatics in open-cockpit biplanes, he was determined to become a Marine aviator.[6] Foss worked at a service station to pay for books and college tuition, and to begin flight lessons from Roy Lanning, at the Sioux Skyway Airfield in 1938, scraping up $65 to pay for the instruction.
His younger brother took over the management of the farm and allowed Foss to go back to school and graduate from Washington High School in Sioux Falls. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1939 with a degree in business administration.[7]
While at USD, Foss and other like-minded students convinced authorities to set up a CAA flying course at the university; he built up 100 flight hours by graduation.[5] Foss paid his way through university by “bussing” tables. He joined the Sigma chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and excelled at sports in USD, fighting on the college boxing team, participating as a member of the track team and as a second-string guard on the football team.[5][8]
Foss served as a Private in the 147th Field Artillery Regiment, Sioux Falls, South Dakota National Guard from 1939 to 1940. By 1940, armed with a pilot certificate and a college degree, Foss hitchhiked to Minneapolis to enlist in the Marine Corps Reserves, in order to join the Naval Aviation Cadet program to become a Naval Aviator.[5]
Military career
Effort to become a fighter pilot[edit]
Foss was accepted by the Marine Corps for flight school and commissioning. After graduation from flight school at NAS Pensacola, Florida he was designated a Naval Aviator and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, in the Marine Corps. He was then assigned as a “plowback” instructor at Pensacola teaching navy, Marine, and coast guard students to be Naval Aviators. At 27 years of age, he was considered too old to be a fighter pilot, and was instead sent to the Navy School of Photography. Upon completion of his initial assignment, he was transferred to Marine Photographic Squadron 1 (VMO-1) stationed at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California. Dissatisfied with his role in photographic reconnaissance, Foss made repeated requests to be transferred to a fighter qualification program. He checked out in Grumman F4F Wildcats while still assigned to VMO-1, logging over 150 flight hours in June and July, 1942, and was eventually transferred to Marine Fighting Squadron 121 VMF-121 as the executive officer.[Note 1] While stateside, Foss married his high school sweetheart, June Shakstad in 1942.[9]
Guadalcanal Flying Ace[edit]
In October 1942, VMF-121 pilots and aircraft were sent to Guadalcanal as part of Operation Watchtower to relieve VMF-223, which had been fighting for control of the air over the island since mid-August.[10] On October 9, Foss and his group were catapult launched off the USS Copahee escort carrier and flew 350 miles (560 km) north to reach Guadalcanal.[11] The air group, code named “Cactus”, based at Henderson Field became known as the Cactus Air Force, and their presence played a pivotal role in the Battle of Guadalcanal.[12] Foss soon gained a reputation for aggressive close-in fighter tactics and uncanny gunnery skills.[13][Note 2] Foss shot down a Japanese Zero on his first combat mission on October 13, but his own F4F Wildcat was shot up as well, and with a dead engine and three more Zeros on his tail, he landed at full speed, with no flaps and minimal control on Henderson Field, barely missing a grove of palm trees.[14] On 7 November his Wildcat was again hit, and he survived a ditching in the sea off the island of Malaita.[15]
As lead pilot in his flight of eight Wildcats, the group soon became known as “Foss’s Flying Circus”, with two sections Foss nicknamed “Farm Boys” and “City Slickers.”[13] In December 1942, Foss contracted malaria. He was sent to Sydney, Australia for rehabilitation, where he met Australian ace Clive “Killer” Caldwell and delivered some lectures on operational flying to RAF pilots, newly assigned to the theater.[9] On January 1, 1943, Foss returned to Guadalcanal, to continue combat operations which lasted until February 9, 1943, although the Japanese attacks had waned from the height of the November 1942 crisis.[18] In three months of sustained combat, Foss’s Flying Circus had shot down 72 Japanese aircraft, including 26 credited to him.[19] Upon matching the record of 26 kills held by America’s top World War I ace, Eddie Rickenbacker, Foss was accorded the honor of becoming America’s first “ace-of-aces” in World War II.[20] One of the Japanese he shot down was ace Kaname Harada, who became a peace activist and met Foss many years later.[21]
Foss returned to the United States in March 1943. On May 18, 1943, Foss received the Medal of Honor from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.[19] The White House ceremony was featured in Life magazine, with the reluctant Captain Foss appearing on the magazine’s cover.[22] He then was asked to participate in a war bond tour that stretched into 1944.[18]
Return to combat[edit]
In February 1944, Foss returned to the Pacific theater to lead VMF-115, flying the F4U Corsair. VMF-115 was based in the combat zone around Emirau, St. Mathias Group in 1944. It was during this second tour that Foss met and became friends with fellow Marine fighter ace Marion Carl. He also had an opportunity to meet and fly with his boyhood idol, Charles Lindbergh, who was on assignment touring the South Pacific as an aviation consultant. After eight months of operational flying but no opportunities to increase his wartime score, Foss finished his combat service as one of America’s top scoring pilots.[23]
Foss again contracted malaria, and was sent home to the Klamath Falls, Oregon Rehabilitation Center. [Note 3]In February 1945, he became operations and training officer at the Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara, California.[25][Note 4]
Postwar[edit]
Air National Guard[edit]
In August 1945, Foss was released to inactive duty and opened Joe Foss Flying Service, charter flying service and flight instruction school in Sioux Falls, that eventually grew into a 35-aircraft operation. With a friend, Duane “Duke” Corning, he later owned a Packard car dealership in the town.[26]
In October 1945, Foss was ordered to appear at Navy Day ceremonies in four cities there and was finally relieved from active duty in December 1945 but was retained in the Marine Corps Reserve on inactive duty until 1947. In 1946, Foss was appointed a lieutenant colonel in the South Dakota Air National Guard and instructed to form the South Dakota Air National Guard, becoming the commanding officer for the Guard’s 175th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. During the unit’s formative years, Foss was actively involved in administration and flying with the squadron, even becoming a member of their North American P-51 Mustang air demonstration team.[27] During the Korean War, Foss, then a colonel, was called to active duty with the United States Air Force, relinquishing command of the 175th Squadron, and served as a Director of Operations and Training for the Central Air Defense Command; he eventually reached the rank of brigadier general.[28]
Political career[edit]
Campaigning from the cockpit of a light aircraft, Foss served two elected terms as a Republican representative in the South Dakota legislature and, beginning in 1955, at age 39, as the state’s youngest governor.[29] During his tenure as governor, he accompanied Tom Brokaw, then a high school student and Governor of South Dakota American Legion Boys State, to New York City for a joint appearance on Two for the Money, a television game show, which featured Foss because of his wartime celebrity. [Note 5] Foss had previously appeared on the long-running game show What’s My Line on May 1, 1955. [Note 6]
In 1958, Foss unsuccessfully sought a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, having been defeated by another wartime pilot hero, the Democrat George McGovern. Foss tried to re-enter politics in 1962 in a campaign to succeed Sen. Francis Case, who died in office. Foss and several other contenders lost to Joseph H. Bottum, who filled out Case’s term.[citation needed]
Later careers[edit]
American Football League[edit]
After serving as governor, Foss spent a short time working for Raven Industries before becoming the first Commissioner of the newly created American Football League in 1959. He oversaw the emergence of the league as the genesis of modern professional football. During the next seven years, Foss helped expand the league and made lucrative television deals, including the initial five-year, $10.6 million contract with ABC in 1960 to broadcast AFL games. The next contract was also for five years, but with NBC for a substantially greater $36 million, starting in 1965.[30][31]
Foss stepped aside as commissioner in April 1966,[32] two months before the historic agreement that led to the merger of AFL and NFL and the creation of the Super Bowl.[33] Al Davis succeeded him,[34] but disagreed with the merger and resigned after 3+1⁄2 months. Milt Woodard, the assistant commissioner under Foss, was named to the new office of president of the AFL in July and served through the league’s final season in 1969.[35]
Television career[edit]
Drawing on a lifelong love of hunting and the outdoors, Foss hosted ABC television‘s The American Sportsman from 1964 to 1967, which took him around the world for hunting and fishing excursions. He then hosted and produced his own syndicated outdoors TV series, The Outdoorsman: Joe Foss, from 1967 to 1974. In 1972, he also began a six-year stint as Director of Public Affairs for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.[33]
National Rifle Association[edit]
Starting in 1988, Foss was elected to two consecutive one-year terms as president of the National Rifle Association of America.[6] In his later years he maintained a rigorous speaking schedule and spoke out for conservative causes on what he considered a weakening of gun owners’ rights. He was portrayed on the cover of the 29 January 1990 issue of Time Magazine wearing his trademark Stetson hat and holding a revolver.[36]
Philanthropy[edit]
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Foss, who had a daughter with cerebral palsy, served as President of the National Society of Crippled Children and Adults.[33] Foss’s other charities included the Easter Seals campaign, Campus Crusade for Christ, and an Arizona program for disadvantaged youths.
The Joe Foss Institute[edit]
In 2001, Foss and his second wife, “Didi,”[Note 7] founded the Joe Foss Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The institute works with veterans and educators around the United States to educate the nation’s youth on history and civics, and to inspire them to become informed and engaged citizens.[38] Through classroom presentations, curriculum and scholarships, the Joe Foss Institute has served more than 1.35 million children, as of June 2014, nationwide. Currently, the institute offers three primary programs; Veterans Inspiring Patriotism (VIP), You are America Civics Series and scholarship contests which run year-round. Foss did many of these school visits himself, speaking to children of all ages about service, responsibility, patriotism, integrity and commitment.[39]
Other honors and recognition[edit]
Foss co-authored or was the subject of three books including the wartime Joe Foss: Flying Marine (with Walter Simmons); Top Guns (with Matthew Brennan); and A Proud American by his wife, Donna Wild Foss. Foss also provided the foreword to Above and Beyond: the Aviation Medals of Honor by Barrett Tillman, and was profiled in Tom Brokaw’s 1998 book about World War II and its warriors, The Greatest Generation. Brokaw characterized Foss: “He had a hero’s swagger but a winning smile to go with his plain talk and movie-star looks. Joe Foss was larger than life, and his heroics in the skies over the Pacific were just the beginning of a journey that would take him to places far from that farm with no electricity and not much hope north of Sioux Falls.”[40]Brave Eagle, a 1955 postwar effort to film a story of Foss’s life, starring his friend, John Wayne, fell through in 1956 when Foss refused to allow the producers to add a fictitious love story.[24] American Ace: The Joe Foss Story was an award-winning, hour-length television documentary, produced by the South Dakota Public Broadcasting, first aired in fall 2006.[3]
Foss was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1984.[41] He also was a president and board chairman of the Air Force Association and as a Director of the United States Air Force Academy.[33] In 2000, he served as a consultant on the popular computer game Combat Flight Simulator 2 by Microsoft.[42] A complete listing of Foss’s affiliations and honors is given at The Joe Foss Institute.[43]
Later years[edit]
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On January 11, 2002, Foss, then 86, was in the news when he was detained by security at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. He was scheduled to deliver an address at the National Rifle Association and speak to a class at the United States Military Academy at West Point. A search necessitated by his pacemaker precluding a metal detector screening had led to the discovery of the star-shaped Medal of Honor, along with a clearly marked dummy-bullet keychain, a second replica bullet and a small nail file (with MOH insignia).
The incident caused a furor with both media and public support given to Foss. Newsman Jack Cafferty noted that airport security personnel demonstrated poor judgment in not recognizing the Medal of Honor and in demanding to confiscate and destroy the medal and related memorabilia. He eventually lost a souvenir replica bullet, but was able to retain his Medal of Honor and commemorative nail file, by shipping it back to himself.[44]
“I wasn’t upset for me … I was upset for the Medal of Honor, that they just didn’t know what it even was. It represents all of the guys who lost their lives – the guys who never came back. Everyone who put their lives on the line for their country. You’re supposed to know what the Medal of Honor is”, he said.[45] The incident led to a national debate about post 9/11 airport security practices and their ramifications on the average citizen.[46]
Death[edit]
Foss suffered a stroke in October 2002 when he bled from a cerebral aneurysm. He died three months later on New Year’s Day, 2003, never having regained consciousness, in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he and his wife had made their home in later years.[47][48] Vice President Dick Cheney, retired Lt. Colonel Oliver North and South Dakota native and NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw were among those who attended with North delivering the eulogy.
Actor Charlton Heston gave a brief tribute to his old friend. Foss was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Section 7A, Lot 162 on January 21, 2003.[49] Family, friends, military personnel and dignitaries remembered him fondly at a service in Arlington and at an earlier “Memorial Service for an American Patriot” in the old chapel at nearby Fort Myer.
Memorials[edit]
A number of institutions and locations have been named in honor of Foss, including Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Joe Foss Field, the Joe Foss Field Air National Guard Station in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Joe Foss Field at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport [Note 8] [Note 9], Joe Foss High School also in Sioux Falls, and the State Building in Pierre, South Dakota. A larger-than-life bronze statue of Foss stands in the lobby of the Sioux Falls Regional Airport.[50]
The Joe Foss Shooting Complex in Buckeye, Arizona, is also named in his honor.[51] A private road in Scottsdale, Arizona, owned by General Dynamics, was renamed “Joe Foss Way” and dedicated on May 20, 2003.[52]
In 1984, Foss was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. [53]
Foss was inducted into the Naval Aviation Hall of Honor at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, in 1994.[54]
Aerial victories[edit]
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The Marine Corps credits Foss with 26 air victories, and Marine ace Robert M. Hanson with 25 victories. However, the Marine Corps credits Marine ace Gregory “Pappy” Boyington with 28 American victories. This is due to Boyington’s (22 Marine victories) wartime claim of 6 victories scored while serving with the Flying Tigers (American Volunteer Group-AVG) in China at the beginning of World War II, prior to him rejoining the Marine Corps;[55]
AVG records show that Boyington was paid for 3.5 enemy aircraft destroyed (2-air, 1.5-ground).[56] The American Fighter Aces Association credits Boyington with 24 victories (22 with the Marine Corps and 2 with the AVG).
| Date | Total | Aircraft Types Claimed |
|---|---|---|
| October 13, 1942 | 1 | A6M Allied reporting name: “Zeke” destroyed (Cactus) |
| October 14, 1942 | 1 | A6M “Zeke” destroyed (Cactus) |
| October 18, 1942 | 3 | 2 A6M “Zekes” and 1 G4M “Betty” destroyed (Cactus) |
| October 20, 1942 | 2 | A6M “Zekes” destroyed (Cactus) |
| October 23, 1942 | 4 | A6M “Zekes” destroyed (Cactus) |
| October 25, 1942 | 2 | A6M “Zekes” destroyed (Cactus) |
| October 25, 1942 | 3 | A6M “Zekes” destroyed (Cactus) |
| November 7, 1942 | 3 | 1 A6M2-N “Rufe” and 2 F1M2 “Petes” destroyed (Cactus), but was shot down by the rear gunner of a Pete he shot down. Postwar records show the Japanese lost only one Pete that day.[57] |
| November 12, 1942 | 3 | 2 G4M “Bettys” and 1 A6M Zero destroyed (Cactus) |
| November 15, 1942 | 1 | E13A “Jake” destroyed (Cactus) |
| January 15, 1943 | 3 | A6M “Zekes” destroyed (Cactus)[58] |
| 26 |
Military awards[edit]
Foss’s military decorations and awards include:
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| United States Air Force Command Pilot Badge[59] | |||||||||||||
| Naval Aviator Badge | |||||||||||||
| Medal of Honor | Distinguished Flying Cross | ||||||||||||
| Air Medal w/ two 5⁄16” Gold Star |
Combat Action Ribbon | Air Force Presidential Unit Citation w/ one bronze oak leaf cluster |
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| Navy Presidential Unit Citation w/ one 3⁄16” Bronze Star |
American Defense Service Medal | American Campaign Medal | |||||||||||
| Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ two 3⁄16” Bronze Stars |
World War II Victory Medal | National Defense Service Medal w/ one 3⁄16” Bronze Star |
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| Air Force Longevity Service Award w/ one bronze oak leaf cluster |
Armed Forces Reserve Medal silver hourglass device |
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon | |||||||||||
Medal of Honor citation[edit]
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR to
CAPTAIN JOSEPH J. FOSS
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:For outstanding heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty as Executive Officer of a Marine Fighting Squadron, at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Engaging in almost daily combat with the enemy from October 9 to November 19, 1942, Captain Foss personally shot down 23 Japanese aircraft and damaged others so severely that their destruction was extremely probable. In addition, during this period, he successfully led a large number of escort missions, skillfully covering reconnaissance, bombing and photographic planes as well as surface craft. On January 15, 1943, he added three more enemy aircraft to his already brilliant successes for a record of aerial combat achievement unsurpassed in this war. Boldly searching out an approaching enemy force on January 25, Captain Foss led his eight F4F Marine planes and four Army P-38s into action and, undaunted by tremendously superior numbers, intercepted and struck with such force that four Japanese fighters were shot down and the bombers were turned back without releasing a single bomb. His remarkable flying skill, inspiring leadership and indomitable fighting spirit were distinctive factors in the defense of strategic American positions on Guadalcanal.
See also[edit]
- List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
- American Football League players, coaches and contributors
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Although only 27, his squadron mates gave him the unflattering nickname of “Old Foos.”[1]
- ^ To preserve the scarce ammunition at Henderson, Foss removed one machine gun from each wing and relied on his “ability to shoot.” At least four engagements were broken off when Foss ran out of ammunition.[9]
- ^ Foss had lost considerable weight during 20 bouts of malaria until successful treatment in the United States brought him back to health. He only weighed 140 lbs when he entered rehabilitation.[24]
- ^ Foss gained fame in the service and later, in civilian life, as a “cigar-smoking”, Stetson hatted, larger-than-life boisterous character.[6]
- ^ Both Brokaw and Foss each won $612.
- ^ Foss signed in using his middle name, Jacob, in a further effort to stump the panel. It was revealed through the panel’s questioning that Foss had been in Las Vegas attending a demonstration at the Nevada Test Site where he met What’s My Line host John Daly.
- ^ Foss married Donna Wild Foss, known as “Didi” in 1967.[37]
- ^ A larger-than-life bronze statue of Foss is in the lobby of the Sioux Falls Regional Airport.[50]
- ^ Joe Foss Field Air National Guard Station is located at Sioux Falls Regional Airport.[28]
Citations[edit]
- ^ Jump up to:a b Miller 1969, p. 115
- ^ “Joe Foss Obituary”. The Telegraph. January 3, 2003. Archived from the original on January 14, 2011.
- ^ Jump up to:a b “American Ace: The Joe Foss Story.” Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine South Dakota Public Broadcasting, 2011. Retrieved: August 4, 2011.
- ^ Bauer January 1990, p. 20.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d Sims 1969, p. 32.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c “Joseph Jacob Foss”. Historical Militaria. 1 January 2003. Archived from the original on March 4, 2003. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
- ^ “WWII ace Joe Foss dies at 87: Medal of Honor recipient led a storied life”. The Arizona Republic. January 2, 2003.
- ^ “Medal of Honor recipients” Archived 2009-07-08 at the Wayback Machine, nicindy.org; accessed August 3, 2011.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Bauer March 1990, p. 40.
- ^ Jackson 1978, p. 128.
- ^ Yenne 2009, p. 100
- ^ Miller 1969, p. xi.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Loomis 1961, p. 94.
- ^ Tillman 1995, p. 30.
- ^ Foss’s flight on that memorable day is documented in Edward H. Sims‘ book Greatest Fighter Missions, as the third chapter of that compilation.
- ^ Brummell, Clyde Verlon (2005). Beyond a Dream. Portland, Oregon: Gann Publishing Co. pp. (from inside front cover).
… drawn by the Disney Studios (…) is exemplary of the squadron itself, and the cigar pays tribute to Major Joe Foss’ ever-present ‘stogie’ (…) the name was chosen by popular vote.
- ^ “Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum”. www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Bauer May 1990, p. 80.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Shores 1975, p. 61.
- ^ Gurney 1982, p. 117.
- ^ Roberts, Sam (5 May 2016). “Kaname Harada, Pearl Harbor Fighter Pilot and, Later, a Pacifist, Dies at 99”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016.
- ^ “Joseph Foss – Life Magazine Cover”[permanent dead link] Life magazine, June 7, 1943 via life.com. Retrieved: August 3, 2011.
- ^ “The Story of Joe’s Jokers.” The Joe Foss Institute. Retrieved: August 4, 2011.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Bauer May 1990, p. 82.
- ^ “Brigadier General Joseph Jacob Foss, ANG (Deceased).”[permanent dead link] usmc.mil. Retrieved: August 3, 2011.
- ^ Brokaw 1998, p. 119.
- ^ “114th Fighter Wing, South Dakota Air National Guard.” South Dakota Department of the Military and Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved: August 4, 2011.
- ^ Jump up to:a b “Joe Foss” Century of Flight, 2003. Retrieved: August 4, 2011.
- ^ Miller 1969, p. 212.
- ^ “AFL, NBC ink pact”, Eugene Register-Guard, January 29, 1964, p. 3B.
- ^ “American Football League may be expanded in 1966.” Nashua Telegraph, May 23, 1964, p. 8.
- ^ “Foss quits $50,000 post as AFL czar.” Milwaukee Sentinel, April 8, 1966, pg. 2, part 2.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d Bernstein, Adam. “WWII Ace, SD Gov. Joe Foss Dies; Also Headed Football League, NRA.”[dead link] Washington Post, January 3, 2003. Retrieved: February 22, 2016.
- ^ “Appoint Davis as AFL czar”, Milwaukee Sentinel, April 9, 1966, pg. 1, part 2.
- ^ “Woodard in, Davis out in AFL”, Milwaukee Sentinel, July 26, 1966, pg. 2, part 2.
- ^ “TIME Magazine Cover: Joe Foss”. TIME. July 29, 1990. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ Harriman, Peter. “S.D. loses legend, American hero.” Argus Leader, January 2, 2003. Retrieved: August 3. 2011.
- ^ D’Amico, Diane. “Education Writer.” Press of Atlantic City, December 10, 2010. Retrieved: February 22, 2016.
- ^ “Home: The Joe FossInstitute.” The Joe Foss Institute. Retrieved: August 4, 2011.
- ^ Brokaw 1998, p. 115.
- ^ “Enshrinees.” Archived 2011-03-12 at the Wayback Machine National Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved: August 3, 2011
- ^ Seal, Jon and Michael Ahn. “”An Interview with Joseph Jacob ‘Joe’ Foss.””. Microsoft. Archived from the original on February 9, 2006. Retrieved 2012-10-22. Microsoft Games Studios, March 2000. Retrieved: August 3, 2011.
- ^ “Accomplishments and Affiliations.” The Joe Foss Institute. Retrieved: August 4, 2011.
- ^ Cafferty, Jack. “Interview with Joe Foss: Decorated WWII veteran detained, searched at airport” Archived 2006-08-21 at the Wayback Machine, CNN.com, February 27, 2002.
- ^ Smith 2003, p. xviii.
- ^ Alonso-Zildivar, Ricardo. “Public Anger Simmers Over Airport Searches”, Los Angeles Times, March 11, 2002.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard. “Joe Foss, 87, Flying Ace Who Led Football League, Is Dead”, The New York Times, January 2003.
- ^ Harriman, Peter and David Kranz. “S.D. loses legend, American hero”, Argus Leader, January 2, 2003.
- ^ Notable Graves: Medal of Honor Recipients, World War II Arlington National Cemetery official website
- ^ Jump up to:a b Joe Foss profile, scottsdalerotary.org; retrieved August 4, 2011.
- ^ “Outdoor Shooting Facility.” Joe Foss Shooting Complex; retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ Kurtinitis, Tracey. “General Dynamics honors legendary Scottsdale figure”, East Valley Tribune, May 21, 2003; retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ “Enshrinee Joe Foss”. nationalaviation.org. National Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ Kaczor, Bill (1994-11-27). “Marine Aces True Hell-for-Leather Pilots”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- ^ “”Colonel Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, USMCR (Deceased)””. Archived from the original on August 6, 2007. Retrieved 2006-02-17. Who’s Who in Marine Corps History; retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ Ford, Daniel quoting Dr. Frank Olynyk. “Victory credits.” Stars and Bars: A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace via warbirdforum.com, 1995. Retrieved: August 3, 2011.
- ^ Hackett, Bob, Sander Kingsepp and Allan Alsleben. “Tokusetsu Suijoki-Bokan: IJN Seaplane Tender Kamikawa Maru: Tabular Record of Movement.” Japanese Auxiliary Seaplane Tenders, 2006. Retrieved: July 9, 2012.
- ^ “Foss, Joseph Jacob.” Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Retrieved: January 15, 2012.
- ^ For Air National Guard service
Bibliography[edit]
- Bauer, Daniel. “Joe Foss: American Hero (Part One).” Air Classics, Volume 26, Number 1, January 1990.
- Bauer, Daniel. “Joe Foss: American Hero (Part Two).” Air Classics, Volume 26, Number 3, March 1990.
- Bauer, Daniel. “Joe Foss: American Hero (Part Three).” Air Classics, Volume 26, Number 5, May 1990.
- “Brigadier General Joseph Jacob Foss, ANG.” Who’s Who in Marine Corps History.
- Brokaw, Tom. The Greatest Generation. New York: Random House, 1998. ISBN 978-0-375-50202-6.
- “Capt Joseph J. Foss, Medal of Honor, 1942, VMA, Guadalcanal (Medal of Honor citation)” at the Wayback Machine (archived June 13, 2006) United States Marine Corps
- Foss, Joe. A Proud American: The Autobiography of Joe Foss. New York: Presidio Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-89141-775-0.
- Gurney, Gene. Five Down & Glory. New York: Ballantine Books, 1982, First edition 1965. ISBN 978-0-345-30799-6.
- Jackson, Robert. Fighter Aces of World War II: The True Stories of Fourteen of World War II’s Fighter Pilots: London: Corgi Books, 1978. ISBN 0-552-10783-2.
- Loomis, Robert D. Great American Fighter Pilots of World War II. New York: Random House, 1961. ISBN 0-394-90396-X.
- Miller, Thomas G. Jr. The Cactus Air Force. New York: Ballantine Books, 1969. ISBN 0-553-14766-8.
- Shores, Christopher. Fighter Aces. London: Hamlyn Publishing, 1975. ISBN 0-600-30230-X.
- Sims, Edward H. Greatest Fighter Missions of the top Navy and Marine aces of World War II. New York: Ballantine Books, 1969, First edition 1962. ISBN 978-0-03-450163-6.
- Smith, Larry. Beyond Glory: Medal of Honor Heroes in Their Own Words. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2004, First edition 2003. ISBN 978-0-393-32562-1.
- Tillman, Barrett. Wildcat Aces of World War 2 (Aircraft of the Aces). Oxford, UK: Osprey, 1995. ISBN 978-1-85532-486-2.
- Yenne, Bill. Aces High: The Heroic Saga of the Two Top-Scoring American Aces of World War II. New York: Berkley, 2009. ISBN 978-1-101-00266-7.
- Zimmerman, Dwight Jon and John D. Gresham. Uncommon Valor: The Medal of Honor and the Six Warriors Who Earned It in Afghanistan and Iraq. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-312-36385-7.
Further reading[edit]
- McCombs, Phil (January 22, 2003). “‘He Flew with the Eagles’: WWII Ace Joseph Foss Remembered at Arlington”. The Washington Post.
- “Foss was big influence on NBC’s Brokaw”. The Arizona Republic. January 4, 2003.
- “Memorial service for WWII hero Joe Foss set for Thursday”. The Arizona Republic. January 3, 2003.
- “WWII ace Joe Foss dies at 87”. The Arizona Republic. January 2, 2003.
External links[edit]
- Joseph Foss – C.O. VMF-121
- Joseph J. Foss
- Joe Foss Institute
- South Dakota Air National Guard website
- Joe J. Foss, Medal of Honor – Joe Foss estate artifacts restored, preserved and displayed at Historical Registry
- Appearance on What’s My Line quiz show on YouTube
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Appearances on C-SPAN
 United States World War II flying aces with 15+ aerial victories |
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